Just as cabin fever is reaching epidemic levels here in the Big Apple, and Old Man Winter is threatening even more punishing cold and wet weather, the XXII Olympic Winter Games are here to save us from our frigid boredom. They kick off on Fri., Feb. 7 and run through Sun., Feb. 23. And if all the snowboarding, ski jumping, bobsledding and luging doesn’t provide enough of a distraction to shake you from your seasonal affective disorder, perhaps heading out to one of the bars listed below and enjoying a few winter game-themed specials will.

3 Sheets Saloon (134 W 3rd St.; 212-777-1733)
After the underwhelming dud that was Super Bowl XLVIII, the crew at this sports-obsessed West Village spot are psyched for some Winter Olympics excitement.

4th Down (170 N 4th St.; 917-744-6522)
With cheap beer, TVs as far as the eye can see, and an awesome open door policy on take-out grub makes this Williamsburg sports bar the perfection destination for checking out the Olympics.

Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Ave.; 718-599-4440)
If the cheap drink and food specials aren’t enough to inspire you to get up off the couch to catch some of the winter games here, perhaps the free pizza is.

The Ainsworth (122 W. 26th St.; 212-741-0646)
The Chelsea bar has 40 TVs, great food and awesome drink deals.

Amsterdam Billiard Club (110 East 11th St.; 212-995-0333)
Should the action from Sochi playing out on the bar’s 20 huge plasma TVs prove to be a drag, you can always rent a pool or ping pong table to while away your boredom. 

Blondie’s Sports (212 W 79th St.; 212-362-4360)
Come for the Winter Olympics, and stay for the awesome drink and food deals.

Nevada Smith’s (125 E 11 St.; 917-402-1510)
With four floors, two giant bars, tasty bar grub and a great selection of drinks, this East Village sports bar is known as a mecca for football (read: soccer) fans. Nonetheless you can count on some of those big TVs being tuned to the Winter Olympics in the days ahead.

Photo: Flickr user Skistar Trysil